Facing a very talented and organized South Korea national team in their first preseason game out of the blocks, the Los Angeles Galaxy were using Wednesday's friendly at The Home Depot Center more or less as a litmus test to see where exactly they are at this stage in their preseason and how much farther they need to go.
The Galaxy seemed to hit a wall around the 70th minute before the Koreans took a stranglehold on the game, eventually winning 3-0. Based on the final statistics there was very little positive to be found in the Galaxy performance. However, one Galaxy rookie made a splash in his debut.
Nate Sturgis was selected as the first pick by the Galaxy in this year's SuperDraft. The young defender out of Clemson made his debut against a national team that advanced to the final four at the last World Cup. Making his first appearance with the Green and Gold was made that much more difficult in that he went head-to-head with arguably the best player on the field for the South Koreans.
On a night where his team was under the gun for most of the match, it was Sturgis who garnered the most praise from his coach following the match.
"I thought Nathan Sturgis proved for us that he can play in the MLS," said Sampson. "If he can play against this team he can play in the MLS. It was baptism by fire tonight. He got a little tired towards the end and they exposed him, but for about 65 minutes Sturgis proved that he can play in the MLS without question."
Sturgis himself was a little more critical of himself following the game, but understood that for a debut, he couldn't have faced a better opponent.
"It was a very good experience for me," he said. "As I go forward from here, I should feel a lot more comfortable and confident in what I do."
Things should only get easier for Sturgis and the Galaxy as the season progresses. They are not likely to face a team with as much talent at every position on the field as the South Koreans, and still have time to gel as a team and gain full match fitness.
The result on the scoreboard might not please the average Galaxy fan, but the long-term dividends gained on the field are indispensable as the season gets started in the Southland.
South Korea's Chun-Soo Lee scored one goal and assisted on another in a dominating performance. Galaxy head coach Steve Sampson even pointed him out as the standout player for the Koreans following the game.
"Obviously (Lee) is an exceptional player. It was pretty obvious to me that the Koreans were trying to find him," said Sampson after the game. "The first touch that he made on the first goal was in my estimation brilliant."
And that was what a rookie just 12 days into preseason had to deal with all night long. Sturgis made some rookie mistakes, and was picked on all night by a technically superior side, but he made very few fatal errors. In the end, he was beaten by Lee for the third and final goal on the night, but it was more due to fatigue than any error of skill by the rookie.
It wasn't just Sturgis who grew tired in the end. The entire Galaxy team succumbed to fatigue at about the hour mark and opened the door for the Koreans to pull away.
"It (the final result) can be attributed to fatigue," said Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones, who had the most international experience for either side on the night. "We're only two weeks into preseason. It's necessary for us to have matches like this to see where we are. We know what we have to work on these last two weeks before we get to the matches that really count."
In two weeks, the Galaxy open up CONCACAF Champions' Cup play against CD Saprissa of Costa Rica, the defending tournament champions. Before that time the Galaxy will return to full strength as U.S. national team players return to the fold. In the meantime, it was a patchwork lineup that took on the Koreans on Wednesday, and for the most part the result was as expected and Sampson came away with something useful for this year's Galaxy to grow from.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
